Garment-holding belt.



s. H. THORP. Q.

1 GARMENT HOLDING BELT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.21, 1913.

1,095,947, Patented May 5,1914.

syniimrrtoon 'rn'onr, or CHARTERS rowers, QUEENSLAND, Ao's'rmm'.

GARMENT-HOLDING BELT.

To all whom it may concern r Be it known that I, SYDNEY Hooo THoRP, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, &c., residingat Charters Towers,

in the State of Queensland, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Holding Belts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchv as will enable others skilled in the'art to which it appertains to make and use the same My invention relates to belts for personal wear adapted to hold a blouse (wits folds, if any be desired) located in the position the wearer Wishes, and at the same time adapted to help to support a skirt. My belt can be used, however, for holding other garments.

Devices have been tried introducing rubher; and irregular surfaces have also been used on belts to' support garments. But some of these devices are found to hold imperfectly, while others injure delicate fabrics; and, in consequence, improvement has been called for. v Y

My belt is durable and comfortable, and may be of light weight. It can be made handsome by coloring, or-embossing or so forth so that it would look well if worn in view, but it will be worn out .of sight ordi narily.

My belt is of rubber, the surface of which is riot cloth covered.' This uncovered surface when stretched or pressed against garments clings to them. It has end attachinen'ts' or connection means, such as buckle devices. There may be webbing at one or both ends of the belt for the buckle devices. The ends are tooverlap, or in any suitable way hold the belt stretched at whatever tension is desired fro-1n time to time. Upon the belt surface I provide projections or grips, adapted to hold down ablouse on one side, and on the other side adapted to help sup-port a skirt. Preferably one side of the belt differs from the other as to-the arrangement of the said grips.

The belt when unstretched is shorter than the waist circumference, or part of the wearer to be inclosed, the shortage being made up by stretching during wear.

To put the belt on it is to be stretched more than enough to inclose the blouse or the like, and thenitis to be relaxed, and buckled or fastened in any convenient Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented May 5, 1914.

Application flied August 21, 1913. 4 Serial saves-e48. 4

known way. his it relaxes its grips or abutments will grip the garment, the belt remaining somewhat stretched whenfastened.

The rubber surface which will then be outside Wlll help to support a skirt band laced over it, an ordinary belt or suitable asten ing means being fixed over the skirt band. The grips or irregularities on the inside of the belt will be found to nip, or slightly packer the blouse, in many cases, and the pressure due to the tension on the rubber also helps to prevent the blouses' becoming unfastened. The various effects secured by the use of my belt will be still better understood by noting the drawings herewith.

The forms in which the invention can be carried into effect arenumerous, and only examples are illustrated. In these, ornament, and various unessential details are not shown. Buckles-or fastening devices are not new, and may vary considerably, and are only diagrammatically indicated.

In the drawings herewith Figure 1 shows in dotted outline the edges of a belt X before wear, A being a gap, which may be short or long, which will be eliminated by stretching thebelt for wear. Fi 2 shows an overlapped position of beltend s, the belt being shown as stretched before the ends are connected. Fig. 3 shows the ends of the belt connected, in one adjustment suitable for wear, the belt being still somewhat stretched. Y are any suitable end connecting devices, buckles or otherwise. Figs. 4, and 7 to 10 areelevations showing portions \of the belt, having different-grips or garment supporting projections. Figs. 5 and all are vertical sections through respective Figs. 4 and 1.0. Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal sectionthrough partof'a 'belt,'an'd Fig. 12 is a vertical section showing1(loosely) su rpositioning of belts and garments as't ey may be worn.

The invention is not limited to. the precise relative positions, sizes, or proportions of parts illustrated";- thus in Fig. 9=the relative thicknesses of parts illustintedWould usually in practice be reduced.

Any of these forms of belt may be in known manner perforated as at Z with holes of any form. for ventilation, or lightness, also as an aid to the gripping of the clothing. The abutinents or grips in Fig. 4 are nipples, adapted to press on or into garment fabric. These nipples on one side are marked a, andthose on the other side 7). and

they have flat, cupped, or other tops. The

by such dovetailing, parts of garments may be better held against slipping. The nipples or projections may be hollow and the holes pass through the belt.

In Fig. 12, W represents the waist or part of a. wearers body, U an undergarment, D the base of a blouse or upper garment, X my belt, S the band or top of a skirt or lower outer garment, and E any suitable outer belt. My belt will prevent the garment D from working or' slipping up, and will prevent the garment S from dragging or slipping down; the parts are shown separated for clear illustration but in practice would be worn sufiiciently tight.

In Figs. 10 to 12- my rubber belt has a series of longitudinal ribs, 9 on one side and it on the other, with vertical gaps as G, and with shoulders g on one side and h on the other, forming angles into which fit parts of garments, the set of the shoulders being downward on one side and upward on the other, the shoulders on one side thus being adapted to prevent the rise, and on the other the fall of respective garments. Projections with acute angles at their bases as in Figs. 5, 9 and 11 act excellently.

it is ,not essential tohave the particular forms of projection shown although flat nipples or studs with enlarged heads forming recesses shown as at a I1 and a, 6 act well. The projections in Figs. 7 and 8 are to be provided on each side of the belt or on the inner side only. lVhen one side of the belt is fiat before wear, it is not flat during wear as the pressure which will occur 'on the nipples or grips on the other side will produce, on the flat side, sufficient projections or irregularities as at a Fig. 6, to help to hold a skirt. or garment.

a, (Z, 6, and f are forms of projection with longitudinal spaces F between upper and lower projections, to allow of-clothing packing against the belt surface, and be held against slip or drag. Projections are evenly spaced; or are in pairs as in Figs. 7 and 9, to

form respective wide and'narrow spacesG and G.

When the belt is given position 13, its

prz'zjections are stretched specially apart as dotted at G, Fig. 8. When clothing is then located between these projections, the belt is allowed to contract until the said projections are somewhat closer as at G position C of thebelt being thus secured, and the clothing being then pinched or gripped, as

in the gap 0, in Fig. 9, or G in Fig. 8. The combined effects of the projections is aided by the rubber surface which resists slipping against dress material, and the desired'hold of garments is thus secured, while avoiding discomfort.

Having described this invention, what is claimed by Letters Patent is 1. A belt comprising a thin strip of uncovered elastic rubber, said strip having I integral projections on both sides, the projections on one side being out of alinement with the projections on the opposite side, and fastening means at the ends of the strip, the thin strip and the disposition of the projections permitting the latter to produce protuberances on the opposite side of said strip when the belt is applied to a wearer.

2. A belt comprising a thin strip of un covered elastic rubber formed with projections disposed in spaced horizontal'alinement, whereby when the belt is stretched on a wearer and slightly relaxed the garment will be gathered between and held by the projections, and means for fastening the ends of the strip.

3. A belt comprising a thin strip of elastic uncovered rubber formed on one surface with a plurality of spaced apart pro'ections having shoulders at their upper en, s, and similar spaced apart projections on the opposite surface with shoulders at their lower ends, the spaces between the projections forming pockets in which the garment fits when stretched on a wearer and when the stretching is relaxed said projections grip the portions of the garment in the spaces.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses. 

